She glances in the rearview mirror as the stranger walks towards her broken-down car. The wicked look on his face sends a chill up her spine, and she knows he’s not here to help. She doesn’t have time to scream before she falls to the ground, and the darkening sky goes black.

When the lifeless body of a young girl is discovered at an abandoned warehouse close to Red Rose County, FBI Agent Val Costa races to investigate. Setting eyes on the victim, Val’s heart stops as she spots the jagged letter S carved into her ice-cold chest. Slowly, she runs her fingers across her own identical scar. She’s been waiting for the Bear to leave his mark again, and now he finally has.

Determined to catch the man who’s haunted her dreams for years, Val promises to end his killing spree once and for all, but when more bodies are found bearing the same deadly carving, she fears she may already be too late. And then Val receives a call that turns her blood to ice—her best friend Sally is missing, and the killer has left a note addressed to her. Follow these rules and she lives.

Desperate to find Sally, Val faces her biggest challenge yet. Will she need to defy orders and track down the Bear alone before it’s too late?

Fans of Lisa Regan, L.T. Ryan, and Mary Stone won’t be able to put down this totally heart-racing crime thriller.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

The morning air felt suddenly heavier. Damp. Drenched in dread.

I’d gone there to end him and his killing spree. I didn’t usually believe in murder, but this didn’t feel like murder. This felt like spraying pesticide to kill the parasites ravaging your crops, the crops that fed your family and kept your community alive. That’s what he was. He was a parasite that needed to be eliminated.

I didn’t have it in me to kill. But that didn’t mean I liked the fact he was still breathing.

There’s always a bogeyman lurking in the shadows. Mine just happened to have a name.

My Review:

I have bravely and eagerly devoured every flinch-worthy installment of this gripping series. The tensely written storylines kept me on edge with my shoulders in my ears while chewing my cuticles, which are now ragged and in desperate need of a manicure. Ms. Christie’s word voodoo is strong and conjures complete scenes populated with a cast of knowable yet uniquely authentic characters whom I would recognize if meeting on the street. Her serial killer was a true psychopath, brutal, deviously clever, cunning, and evil. Brady and Val struggled with the desire to end him, but the reluctance to kill. Hmm, faced with such a vile creature, I doubt that would be a struggle for me.